The Asheville citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1885-1889, 1887-09-18
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S AD-
DRESS!
The Centennial Ceremonies Continued
With Distinguished Brilliancy.

The Centennial Ceremonies Continued
With Distinguished Brilliancy.
IBy telegraph to the Asheville Citizen.l
[Our kilograms of the 18th were
filled with the Centennial celebra-
ton at Philadelphia, but we omit
all except the speech of Mr.. Cleve>
land, which will be read with inter-
est
deem it a very great honor and
pleasure to participate in these i'm.
pressive exercises. Every American
citizen should, on this centennial
day. rejoice in his citizenship. He
will not find the cause of his reioic-
ing in the antiquity of his country.
for among the nations of this earth
his is the youngest. He will
not find it in the glitter and pomp.
that bedeck the lnollarch, and daz-
zles the abiect and seville subjects;
for in his country the people them.
selves are the rulers. He will not
find it in the story of bloody foreign
conquests, for his government has
been content to care for its own
home and people. He should re-
joice, because the work of framing
our constitution was completed Just
one hundred years ago to day; and
also because, when completed it
established free government. He
should rejoice because this constitu-
ton and government have survived
SO long. and also because they have
survived with so many blessings
and have demonstrated 80 fully the
strength and value of popular rule
he should rejoice in the wondrous
growth and achievements of the
past hundred years, and also in the
glorious promise of the constitution
through centuries to come. We
shall fail to be sufficiently thankful
for all that was done for US one
hundred years ago. unless we real
ize the difficulty of work then in
hand and the dangers avoided the
task of!orming more perfect Union
between a disiointed and inharmo>
nious States with interests and
opinions radically diverse and
stubbornly maintained.
The people, actors of the conven-
ton which undertook the labor of
preparing our constitution, are ap-
parent in these earnest words of
one of the most illustrious of its
members, THE small progress we
have made after four OF FIVE weeks
of close attention and continued
reasoning with each other our diff,
ferent sentiments on almost every
question, several of the last produc>
ing as many nays as yeas, is, me-
thinks, melancholy proof of the inn
perfection of the humaE under
standing. We indeed, seem to feel
our own want of political wisdom,
since we have been running about
in search of it. We have gone back
to ancient history for models of
government, and examined the diff
terent forms of these regulations
which having been formed with
seeds of their own dissolution, now
no longer exist. In this situation
is this assembly cropping as it were
in the dark to find political truth,
and scarce able to distinguish it
when presented to US. How has it
happened, sir, that we have not
heretofore thought of humbly ap-
plying to the Father of Light to lie
Illuminate our understandings" And
this wise man proposing to his fel-
lows that the aid and blessing of
God should be invoked on them
declared. 'sIsSave lived sir, long
time, and the longer l live, the
more convincing proofs see
of the truth that God
governs in the affairs of men, and
| if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground
without his notice, is it probable
that an empire can rise without his
aid2 We have been assured sir. in
sacred writings that except the
Lord builds the house they labor in
vain that build it. I firmly belieye
this, and / also believe that without
concuring aid we shall succeed in
y